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What Drives ETF Flows?

Author

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  • Christopher P. Clifford
  • Jon A. Fulkerson
  • Bradford D. Jordan

Abstract

The value of exchange traded fund (ETF) assets has increased from $66 billion in 2000 to almost a trillion dollars in 2010. We use this massive expansion in ETF assets to study what drives ETF flows. Using a data set of over 500 ETFs from 2001 to 2010, we show that ETF investors chase returns in the same way as mutual fund investors. While there is an active debate about whether return chasing by mutual fund investors represents the pursuit of superior talent, the existence of return chasing in this passively managed environment should not represent a search for skilled managers. We also show that ETF flows increase following high volume, small spreads, and high price/net asset value ratios. Finally, we find little evidence of superior market timing in ETF flows. Our results suggest that return chasing in both mutual funds and ETFs is more likely the result of naïve extrapolation bias on the part of investors that has contributed to the growth of the ETF industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher P. Clifford & Jon A. Fulkerson & Bradford D. Jordan, 2014. "What Drives ETF Flows?," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 49(3), pages 619-642, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:finrev:v:49:y:2014:i:3:p:619-642
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/fire.12049
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Zura Kakushadze & Willie Yu, 2022. "ETF Risk Models," Bulletin of Applied Economics, Risk Market Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 1-17.
    2. Sherrill, D. Eli & Stark, Jeffrey R., 2018. "ETF liquidation determinants," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 357-373.
    3. Bae, Kyounghun & Kim, Daejin, 2020. "Liquidity risk and exchange-traded fund returns, variances, and tracking errors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(1), pages 222-253.
    4. Padma Kadiyala, 2022. "Response of ETF flows and long-run returns to investor sentiment," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 36(4), pages 489-531, December.
    5. Peltomäki, Jarkko, 2017. "Beta as a determinant of investor activity in sector exchange-traded funds," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 137-145.
    6. Weber, Martin & Mueller-Dethard, Jan, 2020. "The Portfolio Composition Effect," CEPR Discussion Papers 15012, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Yousefi, Hamed & Najand, Mohammad, 2022. "Geographical diversification using ETFs: Multinational evidence from COVID-19 pandemic," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    8. Hua Wang & Liao Xu, 2019. "Do exchange‐traded fund flows increase the volatility of the underlying index? Evidence from the emerging market in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 58(5), pages 1525-1548, March.
    9. Damien Kunjal & Faeezah Peerbhai & Paul-Francois Muzindutsi, 2022. "Political, economic, and financial country risks and the volatility of the South African Exchange Traded Fund market: A GARCH-MIDAS approach," Risk Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(3), pages 236-258, September.
    10. Timothy Krause & Sina Ehsani & Donald Lien, 2014. "Exchange-traded funds, liquidity and volatility," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(24), pages 1617-1630, December.
    11. Noam Ben-Ze'ev, 2023. "Drivers of Flows-Performance Sensitivity in Mutual Funds," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2023.06, Bank of Israel.
    12. Jędrzej Białkowski & Huong Dieu Dang & Xiaopeng Wei, 2017. "Does the Tail Wag the Dog? Evidence from Fund Flow to VIX ETFs and ETNs," Working Papers in Economics 17/17, University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance.
    13. Rakowski, David & Shirley, Sara, 2020. "What drives the market for exchange-traded notes?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    14. Atanasova, Christina & Weisskopf, Jean-Philippe, 2020. "The price of international equity ETFs: The role of relative liquidity," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    15. Staer, Arsenio & Sottile, Pedro, 2018. "Equivalent volume and comovement," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 143-157.
    16. Pagano, Marco & Sánchez Serrano, Antonio & Zechner, Jozef, 2019. "Can ETFs contribute to systemic risk?," Report of the Advisory Scientific Committee 9, European Systemic Risk Board.
    17. Sina Ehsani & Donald Lien, 2015. "Effects of Passive Intensity on Aggregate Price Dynamics," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 50(3), pages 363-391, August.

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